Consumers will make increasing use of digital personal assistants to interact with consumer services in the connected home, Gartner said in a Monday report. By 2019, the digital assistants on smartphones and other devices will be the primary interface to connected home services in at least 25 percent of homes in developed economies, said the research firm. “In the not-too-distant future, users will no longer have to contend with multiple apps,” it said. “Instead, they will literally talk to digital personal assistants such as Apple's Siri, Amazon's Alexa or Google Assistant. Some of these personal assistants are cloud-based and [are] already beginning to leverage smart machine technology."

D-Link announced a Wi-Fi camera that will support Apple’s HomeKit framework, due out later this year, and a 180-degree camera available now for the mydlink ecosystem. The addition of Siri support with HomeKit “allows cameras to be voice-enabled, giving families even more options to control and monitor their homes with faster results,” said D-Link. Additional details of the HomeKit-compatible camera will be available later this year, it said. D-Link’s 180-degree DCS-8200LH Wi-Fi camera records in 720p video and supports IFTTT (If This Then That), allowing users to integrate with other apps and devices, said D-Link. An example IFTTT recipe: The DCS-8200LH begins recording automatically when users leave the house or takes a still shot when the connected doorbell rings, said the company. The camera's night vision functionality allows recordings up to 16 feet away “in complete darkness” via built-in infrared LEDs, D-Link said.

Philips added a connectivity option to its Sonicare electric toothbrush line. The Sonicare FlexCare Platinum Connected ($199), due in July, links to the Sonicare app via Bluetooth to track brushing in real time. Smart sensors track brushing location and pressure and alert users to change behavior if necessary, Philips said in an email, and a “touch-up” feature directs users to spots they missed after brushing.

Self-install home security devices and hybrid professional monitoring systems for them are emerging as a key trend within the security market in 2016, said Parks Associates Wednesday. Wireless home security sales are on the rise with nearly half of U.S. home security owners having a system that connects wirelessly to sensors. Additional findings: Some 80 percent of U.S. security dealers install smart home devices as part of their services, and a quarter of security replacements or upgrades include at least one smart home device, such as smart thermostats, networked video cameras or smart lighting devices. Nearly 75 percent of security dealers offer interactivity with devices through smartphones, tablets, and computers, said Parks, and 44 percent of networked security camera owners access or control their device remotely almost daily. Among U.S. broadband households with professional security monitoring, 32 percent own a networked security camera, said Parks. Dealer revenue from smart home services averages $14 a month, it said.

Samsung announced its promised FamilyHub Internet refrigerators (see 1601050063) with Wi-Fi, built-in speakers and streaming music from Pandora and TuneIn Radio. Among the 17 apps included with the launch version: Groceries by MasterCard, built-in cameras that give a view inside the closed doors, a whiteboard, photo album, recipe apps, calendar, timer, TV mirroring, weather, shopping list and note taker. Online retailers listed on the Samsung website were Best Buy, Home Depot, Lowe’s and Sears. Retailer locators Monday told consumers to call for availability.

Nest Labs, which weathered a rash of negative reports recently about an exodus of staffers and lack of new products, said Friday it's working with 50 new energy providers for its Nest Learning Thermostat rebates and rewards for residential customers. Many of the utility partners are also participating in Nest’s Rush Hour Rewards (RHR) demand-response service, which compensates Nest owners who opt in to allow power companies to reduce energy usage via thermostat during peak usage times. More than 30 percent of homes in the U.S. now have access to a Nest Thermostat rebate or RHR program through their energy provider, with the number of customers enrolled in Nest’s RHR programs doubling in the last year, Nest said. Citing Navigant Research data, Nest Director-Energy and Enterprise Business Ben Bixby said integrated demand-side management spending is forecast to grow from $40 million this year to $1.2 billion in 2025. The Kansas City Power and Light (KCP&L) RHR program is replacing KCP&L’s existing programmable thermostat program with Nest, it said. Under the program, customers can receive a free Nest Thermostat with the option for free professional installation -- or a $50 credit for self-installation -- when they agree to participate in KCP&L’s RHR program. Customers will also receive a $25 annual incentive reward following their first year of participation, it said. Nest’s solution tailors each event to individual customers' preferences and home characteristics, it said. Its RHR program uses pre-cooling and custom algorithms to reduce air-conditioning usage during peak periods, cutting AC usage for customers enrolled in RHR by more than 55 percent, Nest said. Utilities manage RHR through a stand-alone interface that includes event dispatch tools, performance reporting, and customer enrollment verification and grouping, Nest said. New energy provider partners to the Nest program are Commonwealth Edison in Illinois; Enbridge Gas Distribution, Ontario; Vectren, Indiana and Ohio; United Cooperative Services, North Texas; CoServ Electric, Texas; Georgia Power; Santee Cooper, South Carolina; Portland General Electric, Oregon; and Puget Sound Energy, Washington.

HomeAdvisor launched the first Alexa skill for home services Thursday, enabling Amazon Echo owners to connect to home service professionals by voice using Alexa’s “open mic” feature. Consumers can use HomeAdvisor Instant Connect technology to connect “in less than a minute” to service personnel in the Home Advisor network to arrange appointments for home repairs, the company said. Smart home platforms are “the next big growth accelerators” for home services, HomeAdvisor CEO Chris Terrill said. Users of the Echo, Echo Dot, Amazon Tap and Amazon Fire TV can enable the skill from the Alexa app and then tell Alexa to "Ask HomeAdvisor to find me a plumber," for instance, the company said. Alexa prompts users for a ZIP code and phone number to connect them with prescreened and available home professionals, HomeAdvisor said. Professionals in HomeAdvisor's network undergo criminal and financial background checks before joining the network and are customer rated and reviewed, it said.

Most U.S. consumers are skeptical of the cost and utility of the IoT, said IDC Monday, citing findings from a survey it will discuss on a webcast April 21. But network entertainment applications are a “stepping stone” to a broader IoT experience, said IDC. Some 28 percent of people who own a home network stream online videos to their TVs and are “much more likely to express high interest in and adoption of home IoT applications than other home network owners,” it said. One out of five people who use home automation, monitoring and control devices say their home IoT applications solved a problem they didn't know they had, IDC said. "The long-run impact of the Internet of Things will be broader and deeper than we imagine right now, but the industry is still in the early stages of developing the vision and conveying it to consumers," said Jonathan Gaw, research manager, IDC's IoT consumer program. Some are confused about what constitutes the IoT, said AT&T last week, while Verizon said the IoT is going mainstream (see 1604080039).

Lutron announced integration with Amazon’s Alexa voice service Thursday for control of its Caséta Wireless lighting control system. Caséta owners can control lights by voice using an Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, Amazon Tap or Fire TV, Lutron said, but Caséta is the only Lutron system currently compatible with Alexa. Lutron has been studying Alexa since it was released, Neil Orchowski, product development manager for strategic alliances, told us, and the technology was put through all of Lutron’s testing requirements to ensure reliability against false commands. Caseta is also compatible with Apple Siri voice control, Orchowski said. To enable Alexa control, users have to install the free Amazon Alexa app for Apple, Android or Amazon devices and have a Lutron Smart Bridge and at least one Caséta dimmer installed. They can then set up Alexa on the Amazon devices by following steps in the app on their smartphone or tablet, or by using the Alexa Web interface, Lutron said. When users are out of range of an Alexa device or don’t want to use voice, they can control lights remotely using Lutron’s Pico remote control, Lutron said.

Amped Wireless began shipping a Wi-Fi range extender in a wall plug design, pitching it as a way for consumers to boost the reach of their Wi-Fi network without having to sacrifice a wall outlet. The $99 REC22P range extender has its own pass-through power outlet, allowing users to plug in a lamp or other device that would otherwise require an extension cord or relocation to accommodate the extender. The device also has a rapid-charge USB port for charging smartphones or tablets, said the company. The REC22P’s design includes eight amplifiers and two high-gain antennas that push the Wi-Fi signal through thick walls, ceilings and doors to eliminate dead spots, said Amped. The extender’s BoostBand technology is said to increase overall speed by prioritizing Wi-Fi traffic over the optimal frequency, it said. The REC22P can extend the range of a standard Wi-Fi router by up to 11,000 square feet, said the company.